THE Queen is losing many of her most loyal and trusted servants because she is living so long, the Sunday Express can reveal.

ROYAL SERVICE: The Queen's corgis were cared for by Mrs Fenwick, Angela Kelly and driver Joe Last [KELVIN BRUCE]

Her Majesty, 88 in April, is gradually paring down her staff as retirement, illness and death take their toll.

Among the latest of her aides to ­retire is Nancy Fenwick, who has looked after the Queen’s corgis for decades.

Sometimes jokingly referred to as “Keeper of the Queen’s Corgis”, Nancy is the wife of former royal gamekeeper Bill Fenwick, but with only four dogs left she is unlikely to be replaced.

A royal insider said: “The Queen is letting her corgis die out naturally and is not breeding any more because of her age.

“There are only four left and they can be looked after by the footmen. When there was a pack of 10 or 11, and a constant breeding programme, Mrs Fenwick was needed but her post has now become superfluous.

“Although footmen walk the dogs, Nancy would look after them all when the Queen was abroad, knowing all their individual diets and needs.

“It is rather sad but due to cost-cuts and the Queen’s age, many of these old jobs are being phased out. She is surrounded by a hard core of close aides and that suits her as she approaches 90. She likes to be with people she knows and trusts.”

The Queen did not host an intimate Christmas lunch at the Goring Hotel for her senior servants last month, as she often has in the past, although there was a drinks party for remaining aides at Buckingham Palace.

At Windsor Castle, which Her Majesty regards as her true home, staff numbers are also dwindling.

Head gatekeeper Cyril Doel recently retired after 43 years of service, as did his wife Janet, the castle’s chief housemaid.

A source at the castle said: “For as long as anyone can remember Cyril opened and shut the gates to the Long Walk at Windsor, and it won’t seem the same without him, but no one can work for ever and his time has come.

“Janet will also be missed as she was a familiar face around the castle and was a favourite of the Queen.”

As a result of the losses, the Queen now depends more and more on her two favourite servants, dresser Angela Kelly and page Paul Whybrew

The Queen’s head chauffeur, Joe Last, has also retired.

As well as servants, the Queen has lost many of her clothes designers over the years. Last month her milliner of 35 years, Frederick Fox, died aged 82. He had retired in 2002 after making more than 350 hats for her.

As a result of the losses, the Queen now depends more and more on her two favourite servants, dresser Angela Kelly and page Paul Whybrew.

Both have been given grace and ­favour homes at Windsor and were ­rewarded in 2012 with LVOs (Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order) for their devoted service.

Confirmed bachelor Whybrew, 54, featured in the spoof James Bond film shown at the 2012 Olympics when he walked with the Queen, actor Daniel Craig and the corgis along a Buckingham Palace corridor.

He is so close to the Queen that he will sometimes sit with her watching television when Prince Philip is away.

The daughter of a Liverpool docker, Angela, 62, has been credited with transforming the Queen’s wardrobe and now designs and makes many of her clothes and hats.

An insider said: “The Queen would be lost without those two. She depends on them and trusts them totally, and she has made sure that they are well looked after so that they will stay with her for life.

“The Queen Mother faced the problem of her servants when she got into her 90s and then lived to 101.

“She was outliving all of her top aides and it was hard to replace them, but Paul and Angela are young enough to look after the Queen for many years to come.”

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “As with all organisations, people retire and, where appropriate, ­successors are found according to ­requirements.